Security agencies fighting against the circulation of fake Indian currency notes have to take on a deadly mix of the underworld, various terrorist networks and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s intelligence agency, who are using new routes to pump fake currency into
India.

Sources in the Mumbai police said the involvement of the underworld has been established on a number of occasions, and distribution of fake currency is controlled by Dawood Ibrahim's trusted lietenant, Aftab Batki alias Sultan.

A sessions court last week sentenced four people, including two Bangaldeshi nationals, to five years imprisonment in a fake currency case investigated by the ATS in January 2011In two separate raids, the ATS had seized fake currency worth around Rs10 lakh from the four. controlled by Dawood Ibrahim’s trusted lieutenant Aftab Batki alias Sultan.

As per sources, Batki, who hails from Nagpada, left Mumbai for Dubai in the early 1990s.

He has been overseeing the operations of the D-gang.

Sources said fake notes get printed at a press set up by ISI at Sukkur, a border town in Pakistan.

ISI has been using Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other splinter groups to smuggle fake currency.

Since Dawood controlled land on the Western coast, he became a natural ally of the ISI, lending his land to distribute fake currency.

The role of terrorists has also come to the fore in the fake currency racket.

In August 2011, Haroon Rashid Naik, a top leader of the Indian Mujahideen was arrested by the anti-terrorism squad with fake currency.

Similarly, alleged Hizbu Mujahideen terrorist Faroquee Naiku, 37, of Baramulla was also arrested from Nagpada by the Mumbai crime branch in January this year with fake currency.

Naiku has been active in hawala, narcotics and fake currency rackets.

Ambadas Pote, deputy commissioner of police (crime) said units of the Mumbai police have detected many cases of fake currency and continue to keep vigil.